Flesh journeys: neo primitives and the contemporary rediscovery of radicalbody modification

Viewing the body as both an evocative social text and a vehicle of social r esistance, this article explores recent developments within the Neo Primiti ve (NP) movement. As a segmented branch of the larger body modification cul tural scene, Neo Primitives have created individuals have created a renaiss ance of deeply flamboyant and often radical body marking practices. Members stress the spiritual, emotional, and practical rewards of body modificatio n for those entrenched within land ultimately oppressed by) hegemonic bound aries of physical expression in the modern metropolis, especially as those boundaries relate to codes of beauty, gender, sexuality, spirituality, and personal creativity. Building on qualitative data gathered in two Canadian cities, and viewing members this subculture as active agents of counter-exp ression and dissent, this article explores the ideologies.